callum machugh

Okay boys and girls, admittedly we’ve been teasing you all with Skylines over the past couple of months: we’ve showcased some pretty amazing R33′s with some fairly serious modifications but, for me at least, this is the big one. Whatever your Skyline preference, there’s no denying that the R34 garners the most attention, both good and bad. Its’ situation in the U.S. is tumultuous to say the least, with an illegal Grey imports business resulting in the R34 becoming outlawed, it’s infamous in the truest sense. However, despite all of the bureaucracy and red tape, the R34 is more than a middle finger to the suits and briefcases: it personifies affordable supercar-beating performance in arguably one of the most attractive packages ever to come from Japan.

Yes we’re once again coming at you straight from Japan, continuing our Okinawa series we’re bringing you another Nissan Skyline, but this time it’s a little bit different. The previous two cars from Okinawa we shot, wrote about and presented to you were built and owned by US natives who have settled in Japan after a career in the armed forces. Not to take away anything from those guys, their cars are certainly both awesome, be sure to check those builds out on the site too, but this time we’re featuring a car from a Japanese native. The jdm scene after all is not just the cars but the influence and style from Japan that goes along with it, so this build is perhaps the most indicative of all as to what jdm really is. Read More

Now, as I sit here writing this latest piece for you all to enjoy reading, I have a bit of an inner conflict brewing as how to start this off. On the one hand I could go in depth about the Impreza’s history: how Sainz and McRae tore across continents in world rally iterations of the scooby in the 90′s; how this is a 4wd rally car for the road, how the evo/impreza battle of the 90′s waged on in the stages and the street, so on and so forth, overused cliche after overused cliche, I’m even guilty of doing this myself. But, perhaps for a change, I’ll just save you from the history lesson and get to the point. This is owner Richard Duwel’s 1999 GC8 Impreza Sti RA limited and, I’ll be straight, it’s bloody awesome.

Amongst the jdm community, the Honda scene is probably the largest and most represented; go to any car show whether it be a jdm showcase, stance meet or even just a general car show, Honda’s will be strewn about at every corner, vtec abound. As a result, building something fresh in a scene so vast is no easy feat, variation is one thing but standing out from the slew of Eg’s , Ek’s and dc2′s modified in every direction is quite the challenge to undertake. Now if you’ve been following jdm-culture for a while you might recognise this Del Sol from a feature we did last year, but for those of you who are new, this is Warren’s 95 Crx Del Sol and, from all accounts, his modifying journey over the last year has certainly not been easy.

The first generation of Subaru Impreza has become somewhat of an icon among car enthusiasts, engraved into the minds of those who witnessed the intense battles waged in the stages of world rally with the likes of Colin McRae and Carlos Saintz at the wheel in the Japanese domination era of rally in the 1990s. The first generation shape matured well over its 8 years in production, culminating in arguably some of best looking Imprezas in 22b and rb5 guises; however when the second generation “bug-eye” was launched in 2000 it caused quite a controversy, it looked polarizing to say the least and, if you ask even the Subaru faithful, it has a cult following not universal acclaim.

Now as I’m sure virtually every car enthusiast will be aware, JDM fan or otherwise, the Toyota Supra is one of the great 2 door RWD coupes to come from the land of the rising sun. In stock trim it is a supremely capable and fast car with the MK IV probably being held in the highest regard amongst fans and road testers alike. The base platform with the now legendary 2JZ engine is also one of the most versatile for modifying with a breadth of ability few cars can match: drifting, drag racing, time attack, daily drivers and, as with the red monster here, ridiculously quick street builds.